Savanna Comics' Choice Awards announces 2017 theme
The seventh annual South African Savanna Comics' Choice Awards has announced its theme for 2017: The Freedom of Funny. For the first time, the awards will include all African countries. They will celebrate the power that humour has to break down barriers and open borders between African countries and encourage the free flow of comedy talent.
This freedom is the cornerstone of comedians’ ability to make people laugh – and to make a living. This is the freedom they have (and need) to create, to express and to poke fun at the serious and often silly side of everyday life.
“This theme was chosen after the success of last year’s theme – ‘For The Love Of Laughter’. We saw a really good reception by the South African public to a more accessible, upbeat theme. Not to say we won’t take a darker turn down the road again, but for now, while the country navigates a tough period - we felt it would be great to celebrate positive aspects of comedy again,” says John Vlismas, Savanna CCA co-founder.
With its expansion into Africa, the style of the Savanna CCA’s this year will be an elegant mix of Afro-chic and Great Gatsby glam, which will be carried through from the event artwork to the main awards show itself.
2017 categories
The Savanna CCA’s has expanded to 11 awards (the largest to date), and recognise outstanding talent across a range of categories:
The Savanna Newcomer Comic Award.
The Intermediate Comic Award.
The Comics’ Pen Award.
The Lifetime Achiever Award.
The Flying Solo Comic Award.
The Non-English Comic Award.
The Nando’s Best Friend of Comedy Award.
The Breakthrough Award.
The Savanna Pan-African Comic Award. This award will go to the comic on the continent (excluding South Africa) who has contributed the most to the African comedy industry, as voted for by his or her fellow African and South African comedians.
The Audience Choice Award (the only category in which the public can vote).
The Savanna Comic of the Year.
Schedule
Over the course of five months, the Savanna CCA’s will be rolling out the yellow carpet at a series of events including:
Sunday 28 May: Savanna Newcomer Showcase at The Soweto Theatre.
Wednesday 12 July: Press Lunch and Nominee Announcement. Public voting opens for the Audience Choice Nominees at 5pm that day. Venue to be confirmed.
Wednesday 16 August: Grilling of a Lifetime
Saturday 9 September: Savanna Comics’ Choice Awards 2017 will be held at The Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, Johannesburg.
The only category in which the public can vote is the Audience Choice Award. Voting for that category opens on Monday 22 May and closes on Thursday 25 August. For details on how to vote, visit www.comicschoice.com.
Awards’ partners
The awards long-term partner, Savanna Premium Cider, is sponsoring the awards for the sixth year running. This year Nando’s joins as an award sponsor and media partners include VUZU Amp, Sunday World and Kaya FM 95.9.
For information on and to buy tickets for SA’s premier comedy awards event to be held on 9 September at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City, visit www.comicschoice.com.
